Brother, brother, brother!!!.....the sister had me crying like a girl with her words...words that reflect not only her reality and that of our youth but the job that we as adults are not doing!!!....but we claim to love our children!?

It’s no secret Chicago violence is taking a toll on the city. While some address the issue through marches and speeches, one local artist has taken a different approach–spoken word.“Chi City Youth,” a video poem, is getting a lot of attention on Facebook, gaining more than 4,000 shares in 48 hours. It currently has more than 8,000 shares–three days after it was posted.

In the seven and half minute piece, student and spoken word artist Jazmine McKinney outlines the heartbreaking challenges urban youth often face–most notably violence. McKinney calls them “our babies,” “the generation that could have been but never was.” She wrote the poem for them, she says.

The work was funded in part by a City of Urbana Arts grant and produced by University of Illinois PhD student Raymond Morales. It’s part of a larger project consisting of 12 audio works and several videos by six Illinois artists. Copies of the complete work, called “Ill Poets Society Vol.1,” is available in libraries and public organizations throughout the Urbana area. The audio is also available for free download on Morales’ site.

POSTED INBLOGRecently, we shared this striking spoken-word piece on our Facebook page as a perfect representation of I Speak Chicago’s objectives, both in content–as an in-depth analysis of the complex factors that perpetuate cyclical violence in Chicago communities–and in form, as youthful expression through an artistic medium. The Ill Poets Society project, organized by Dr. Raymond Morales, brought together several talented poets onto one audio album to speak on community issues. More information about the project can be found here.Jazmine McKinney’s piece, at moments, hits at our emotional core, but for many people raised in privilege, it’s difficult to fully understand the painful existence she describes. But it is this gap of understanding that presents an opportunity for growth.Often, when outsiders enter these communities with kind intentions, they become uncomfortable with their divergent identity, and feel too distant to effect change. In turn, community members may feel misunderstood and become resentful, and the cycle of misunderstanding continues.Yet, when we grapple with what makes us the most uncomfortable or confused; when we confront the myths purported by media, society, and culture that tell us “it’s not our problem” and these are not “our babies”; we make progress. We can admit that we do not and may not ever fully understand “the constant battles of a Chi-city youth”–but at the very least, we must seek to do so.What is at stake?Our babies.So let’s start talking–and listening.What does Jazmine really mean when she says the youth are “holistically encaged?” What factors most drive their “psychological instability”? And how can we critically address these factors? How responsible are we for the “public hate” to which Jazmine refers?We can discuss, as our own Matthew did so eloquently in his Thought Catalog piece, the problematic public policies and laws that turn the odds even further against our babies. And amidst protests over unjust bills or critical programs and services losing funding, it may seem that legislators and politicians hold all the cards, but they don’t. We elect them, and it is our responsibility to put them under a microscope before putting them in a seat of power, and to hold them accountable for every decision they make.Most importantly, we must remember that our society is not static, and the climate of our environment is not permanent. Evolution is inevitable. In one hundred years, our communities may have eroded beyond recognition, or may be more full of love, peace, harmony and justice than ever before.So: how will we be, Chicago?......http://www.ispeakchicago.org/lets-start-talking-and-listening/

Thanks for sharing this update cherryblossom, its good to know Jazmine's piece has had far reaching impact. I certainly continue with transparent optimism that Chi City Youth will reach an even wider appeal.